Hey family!
Thanks so much for everything you've been sending me! It was like Christmas today when we went to pick up mail. I had four whole packages! And then, I got Four e-mails from Mom! It's just been a good day today. Things were getting a little ridiculous for mail, because Sister Patton has gotten like one or two packages every day for the past week. We started calling Packages "Pattons" instead. But now with all these packages, hope is restored for the Elders of District 54-B.
Thanks for the stuff you sent. Honestly, everything you sent me was exactly what I needed right now. I feel truly blessed. Especially the Hinos, I was starting to get discouraged, because I’ve been checking the bookstore every day for the past two weeks, and they still don't have Hinos! And, as it turns out, that mean Book store Lady doesn't have a cat that just died, so I won't be able to make a movie out of this little bonanza later on in life.
Also, thanks for the scripture markers! I've been reading so much of the book of Mormon, and I've started marking it hardcore, and doing all of my own references, and all of this intense Scripture study. And I realized once I got to Jacob that pretty much all of 2 Nephi was red in my English scriptures! It's really not that helpful! So, I decided not to mark anything else until I got more colors, and I set up a system of marking, i.e. set red to atonement scriptures, blue to prophesies, green to repentance, etc.. And then, you sent me those scripture markers. That's exactly what I needed! Thanks!
Oh, and just curious, I got a package of Toffee? Did you send that, or is that someone else? Regardless, I am thankful for the Toffee, and also all of the other candy you sent me! It's going to be a party in Room 325!
Speaking of Room 325... you know what's kind of silly? I spend maybe an hour and a half during the day in my room, pretty much writing letters or getting ready, so i really don't need that much space. But, my room is like twice the size of my dorm room at BYU! I know that there are four guys in my room, but still, it seems huge to me!
MTC life keeps going on. I am now aware of exactly 5 other Elder Twitchell’s here, and have spoken to Two of them, including one that i accidently stole his name tag (I should have realized--the Tag was in Spanish!).
Elder Barkdull has been such a great companion, it honestly blows my mind. It's weird though, because honestly, I think anywhere outside of the MTC, i don't think we really would have been great friends, because we're pretty different. He's really into random stuff, like Star Wars and Pokemon, and then he's a total thrill seeker, always talking about Snowboarding, Wakeboarding, Skateboarding, etc. But when it comes to important stuff, we're on the same page. When he reads his scriptures, he really gets into it. The other day, he was pointing out stuff to me in the Allegory of the Olive Tree that I never even caught on to! It's so cool!
And then when we're teaching? Don't even get me started! The first few lessons we taught were, admittedly, rough. But now, we have such a good rhythm for teaching. We don't ever plan who is going to say what anymore, we just go in, and we support each other. We have this weird connection going on, like I’ll be speaking, and for some reason I’m just impressed to stop, and Elder Barkdull will have the perfect thing, ready to say. It's definitely the Holy Ghost at work, but it helps that we get each other!
And not to brag or anything, but I think that Elder Barkdull and I have the best Portuguese in the District. We did a teaching scenario the other day with another companionship, and we switched companions, so I was with Elder Trevisanut and Elder Barkdull was with Elder Frahm, and then each group switched off being Investigators and Missionaries. But when we taught, it was like me and Elder Barkdull were the only ones speaking. In fact, half way through our lessons, Elder Barkdull and I both stopped talking, to give the other Elders a chance. I don't want to come off as really arrogant, because that's not what I’m getting at, at all. It's just that I feel really blessed for the resources and abilities that the Lord has given me. I pray every day for Humility, because i know that blessings from God can turn into Pride so easily, and I don't want that to happen to me.
But everyone in my District has been working so hard, and been doing such a great job, it's amazing. And we get along really, really well. Almost too well, in fact. We've been having to split up our district during study time, because we always end up talking to each other. It starts out innocent enough; we'll all be sitting in our classroom, reading scriptures/PMG/etc. And then, someone will make one little comment, or one little quote from the Office or some movie. And then someone will say another little thing. Next thing we know, everyone is having a good time talking, which is ok for like maybe 15 minutes a day, because honestly, we'd all go crazy is we fully utilized all of our study time. It's so maddening to be in the same class room for like 10 hours a day. But once this happens, it can be hard to get focused again. But we've all been trying hard to keep focused.
I think you would love my District! We've come up with nicknames for pretty much everyone. There's Elder "Dry Reeves, or Reeves-who-must-not-be-named" Reeves (this nickname comes because in Portuguese, when an R starts a word, it sounds like an H, so Reeves is pronounced "Heaves"), Elder "Hobbit, or the Everlasting Hobb-stopper" Hobbs, Elder "Snootch-Dog" Trevisanut (again, another Portuguese joke. When a T is at the end of a word, it is normally pronounced as a ch. So, all of our teachers call him Trev-a-snootch. And he likes rap, and Snoop Dog is a rapper, so we call him Snootch-Dog.). Then there is Elder "Farmer" Frahm (because he's a farmer), Elder "Shaft" Barkdull, Elder "Golden Twitch" Twitchell (I was Snitchell, but i didn't like that, so they switched it to Golden Twitch, just like the GOlden Snitch in Harry Potter), and Elder "Farley" Johnson (because he looks and acts like Christ Farely). We haven't gotten a nickname for Elder Glenn yet, and we don't have ones for the Sisters, but they're just as much a part of the Group. They're so great!
All of us in Brazil zones have been getting really excited lately, because tons of Visas have been coming in. Every week, more and more people are getting their Visas. Elder Barkdull filled out his Electronic Visa today, and while we were there, we overheard that over a 100 Brazil Visas just came in to Salt Lake City, most of them for missionaries from California or New York. Everyone just has this nervous energy, because it's completely random who gets their Visa first. Hopefully I can get it soon!
That's sucks about Autumn's teeth! Nao Bom. But that's cool that she was able to bear her Testimony! I am so happy that she enjoys the ward. Our ward IS good! It's just a bit rough around the edges, which can describe all of us!
Hey, sorry, Elder Barkdull just got called to the Travel Office again, so I have to go. I'll send you guys a letter soon, and I’ll talk a bit more fully in that! Have fun, be hopeful, and know that the Lord loves you!
Love,
Elder Avram Twitchell.
Thanks so much for everything you've been sending me! It was like Christmas today when we went to pick up mail. I had four whole packages! And then, I got Four e-mails from Mom! It's just been a good day today. Things were getting a little ridiculous for mail, because Sister Patton has gotten like one or two packages every day for the past week. We started calling Packages "Pattons" instead. But now with all these packages, hope is restored for the Elders of District 54-B.
Thanks for the stuff you sent. Honestly, everything you sent me was exactly what I needed right now. I feel truly blessed. Especially the Hinos, I was starting to get discouraged, because I’ve been checking the bookstore every day for the past two weeks, and they still don't have Hinos! And, as it turns out, that mean Book store Lady doesn't have a cat that just died, so I won't be able to make a movie out of this little bonanza later on in life.
Also, thanks for the scripture markers! I've been reading so much of the book of Mormon, and I've started marking it hardcore, and doing all of my own references, and all of this intense Scripture study. And I realized once I got to Jacob that pretty much all of 2 Nephi was red in my English scriptures! It's really not that helpful! So, I decided not to mark anything else until I got more colors, and I set up a system of marking, i.e. set red to atonement scriptures, blue to prophesies, green to repentance, etc.. And then, you sent me those scripture markers. That's exactly what I needed! Thanks!
Oh, and just curious, I got a package of Toffee? Did you send that, or is that someone else? Regardless, I am thankful for the Toffee, and also all of the other candy you sent me! It's going to be a party in Room 325!
Speaking of Room 325... you know what's kind of silly? I spend maybe an hour and a half during the day in my room, pretty much writing letters or getting ready, so i really don't need that much space. But, my room is like twice the size of my dorm room at BYU! I know that there are four guys in my room, but still, it seems huge to me!
MTC life keeps going on. I am now aware of exactly 5 other Elder Twitchell’s here, and have spoken to Two of them, including one that i accidently stole his name tag (I should have realized--the Tag was in Spanish!).
Elder Barkdull has been such a great companion, it honestly blows my mind. It's weird though, because honestly, I think anywhere outside of the MTC, i don't think we really would have been great friends, because we're pretty different. He's really into random stuff, like Star Wars and Pokemon, and then he's a total thrill seeker, always talking about Snowboarding, Wakeboarding, Skateboarding, etc. But when it comes to important stuff, we're on the same page. When he reads his scriptures, he really gets into it. The other day, he was pointing out stuff to me in the Allegory of the Olive Tree that I never even caught on to! It's so cool!
And then when we're teaching? Don't even get me started! The first few lessons we taught were, admittedly, rough. But now, we have such a good rhythm for teaching. We don't ever plan who is going to say what anymore, we just go in, and we support each other. We have this weird connection going on, like I’ll be speaking, and for some reason I’m just impressed to stop, and Elder Barkdull will have the perfect thing, ready to say. It's definitely the Holy Ghost at work, but it helps that we get each other!
And not to brag or anything, but I think that Elder Barkdull and I have the best Portuguese in the District. We did a teaching scenario the other day with another companionship, and we switched companions, so I was with Elder Trevisanut and Elder Barkdull was with Elder Frahm, and then each group switched off being Investigators and Missionaries. But when we taught, it was like me and Elder Barkdull were the only ones speaking. In fact, half way through our lessons, Elder Barkdull and I both stopped talking, to give the other Elders a chance. I don't want to come off as really arrogant, because that's not what I’m getting at, at all. It's just that I feel really blessed for the resources and abilities that the Lord has given me. I pray every day for Humility, because i know that blessings from God can turn into Pride so easily, and I don't want that to happen to me.
But everyone in my District has been working so hard, and been doing such a great job, it's amazing. And we get along really, really well. Almost too well, in fact. We've been having to split up our district during study time, because we always end up talking to each other. It starts out innocent enough; we'll all be sitting in our classroom, reading scriptures/PMG/etc. And then, someone will make one little comment, or one little quote from the Office or some movie. And then someone will say another little thing. Next thing we know, everyone is having a good time talking, which is ok for like maybe 15 minutes a day, because honestly, we'd all go crazy is we fully utilized all of our study time. It's so maddening to be in the same class room for like 10 hours a day. But once this happens, it can be hard to get focused again. But we've all been trying hard to keep focused.
I think you would love my District! We've come up with nicknames for pretty much everyone. There's Elder "Dry Reeves, or Reeves-who-must-not-be-named" Reeves (this nickname comes because in Portuguese, when an R starts a word, it sounds like an H, so Reeves is pronounced "Heaves"), Elder "Hobbit, or the Everlasting Hobb-stopper" Hobbs, Elder "Snootch-Dog" Trevisanut (again, another Portuguese joke. When a T is at the end of a word, it is normally pronounced as a ch. So, all of our teachers call him Trev-a-snootch. And he likes rap, and Snoop Dog is a rapper, so we call him Snootch-Dog.). Then there is Elder "Farmer" Frahm (because he's a farmer), Elder "Shaft" Barkdull, Elder "Golden Twitch" Twitchell (I was Snitchell, but i didn't like that, so they switched it to Golden Twitch, just like the GOlden Snitch in Harry Potter), and Elder "Farley" Johnson (because he looks and acts like Christ Farely). We haven't gotten a nickname for Elder Glenn yet, and we don't have ones for the Sisters, but they're just as much a part of the Group. They're so great!
All of us in Brazil zones have been getting really excited lately, because tons of Visas have been coming in. Every week, more and more people are getting their Visas. Elder Barkdull filled out his Electronic Visa today, and while we were there, we overheard that over a 100 Brazil Visas just came in to Salt Lake City, most of them for missionaries from California or New York. Everyone just has this nervous energy, because it's completely random who gets their Visa first. Hopefully I can get it soon!
That's sucks about Autumn's teeth! Nao Bom. But that's cool that she was able to bear her Testimony! I am so happy that she enjoys the ward. Our ward IS good! It's just a bit rough around the edges, which can describe all of us!
Hey, sorry, Elder Barkdull just got called to the Travel Office again, so I have to go. I'll send you guys a letter soon, and I’ll talk a bit more fully in that! Have fun, be hopeful, and know that the Lord loves you!
Love,
Elder Avram Twitchell.
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